Brake



April 14, 1931.

BRAKE H. FORD Filed Aug. 4, 193D 4 Shee Ls-Sheet l INVENTOR.

April 14, 1931- H. r-'oRD l 1,800,615

BRAKE Filed Aug. 4, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Pw' 3 j J4 3/ INVENTOR.

BY Wifneu.

e CSM ATTORNEY.

H. FORD 1,800,615

BRAKE Filed Aug. 4. 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 April 14, 1931.

H. FORD April 14, 1931.

BRAKE Filed Aug. 4, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INI/ENTOR.

A TTORNEV.

Wi 1n ess i e www1.

Patented Apr. 14, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT @FFME HENRY FORD, FDEARBORN, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNGR T0 FORDYMOTOR COMPANY, 0F

DEARBORN, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION 0F DELAWARE BRAKE Application filedAugust 4, 1930. Serial No. 472,890.

The object of my linvention is toprovi'de an automobile brake of simple,durable and inexpensive construction.

More particularly, my invention relates to an operating mechanism forapplying brakes simultaneously on both the front and rear wheels of anautomobile, the brake applying pressure exerted on each pair o f thefront or rear wheels being equalized to ini@ sure proper braking.

Still a further object of my invention is to provide a mechanicallyoperated four wheel brake system wherein the control rods are totallyenclosed to thereby prevent acl cidental damage to the rods and further,to protect the rods against the action of dirt and water. Heretofore,mechanically operated automobile brakes have universally been equippedwith rods extending. from ao each brake back to the center of-the carwhere these rods are connected through suitable linkage to a foot pedalor brake lever. The linkage of this type of brake being exposed issubject to the deteriorating action of dirt and water so that the clevispins and joints soon become loose thereby invariably causing rattlebetween the parts. In my improved structure, the brake applying rods 'lare enclosed so that they may be periodically lubricated to therebyprevent wear and to prolong their lite indefinitely.

Still further, my improved brake having the operating, rods and leversfully enclosed is protected against accidental application of the brakesdue to objects encountering one of the control parts. This feature aloneis very desirable as it prevents accidental application of the brakes.

My improved brake is especially suitable e@ for use on cars having frontand rear radius rods as I prefer to house my brake operating mechanismin these rods. These rods are ordinarily of tubular section to resistthe compression stress thereon so that no extra cost is encountered inso housing this mechanism.

l/Vith these and other objects in view, my invention consists in thearrangement, construction and combination of the various parts of myimproved device, as described in the specification, claimed in myclaims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l shows a vertical transverse sectional view through the frontwheel of 'an automobile having my improved brakes installed thereon.

Figure 2 shows a plan view of one of the front brake anchor platesshowing the position of the brake shoes and operating wedge.

Figure 3 shows a sectional view taken on the line 3 3 of Figure l.

Figure 4 shows" a sectional view. taken on the' line ii- 4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 shows a side elevation of an automobile chassis having mybrakes installed thereon, parts being broken away to better illustratetlre connection.

Figure 6 shows a lsectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 5.

Figure 7 shows a sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of Figure 5.

Figure 8 shows a sectional view vtaken on the line 8-8 of Figure 7.

Figure 9 shows a plan View of a chassis illustrating the radius rodconstruction desirable to incorporate with my improved brake. 1

Figurey 10 shows a plan view of one of the rear brake ai'i-clior platesshowing the posdition of the brake shoes and operating we ge.V i

Figure 11 'shows a sectional view taken on the line 11e-110i Figure 9,and o Figure 12 shows an alternate push rod housingvwhich may be used inplace of the device shown in Figure 3.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, I have used the referencenumeral 10. to indicate generally the slide members of anautoinobilechassis frame having a center cross member 11, and end crossmembers 12. Front and rear axles 13 and 14, respectively, are providedto support the chassis, these axles being connected to the end crossmembers 12 by means of transverse springs 15, and held againstlongitudinal movement by a front radius rod 16 and a rear radius rod 17.Wheels 18 are rotatably mounted on the ends of each. asie in theordinary manner, the front wheels, of course, being arranged to pivot sothat vthe car may be steered.

An engine and transmission unit 19 isv mounted on Athe forward end ofthe chassis,

therear end of this unit being secured ,to a

`housing just rearwardly of the center frame cros's member. Extendingforwardly from the `rear axle 14 I have provided a torque tube 21 whichterminates at the housing 20 to which it is secured. It will be notedfrom Figure 7 that the -forward ends of the rear radius rods alsoterminate at this housing thereby forming an exceptionally strong andrlgid construction.

I have purposely made my front axle 13 of tubular section so that thecontrol rods for operating the front brakes may be conveniently housedwithin thistube. Each 0f the four wheels of my improved device v isprovided with an internal expanding brake and novel operating means areprovided for each brake which is housed with. in the front axle andfront and rear radius rods to thereby .be protected from the weather ordamagel Referring to Figure 1, eachend of the axle 13 is provided with asubstantially vertical king pin 24 fixedly securedtherein,

the upper end 25 of which serves as a spring perch. A knuckle 2 6 isswivelly mounted on each pin 24 having a wheel spindle 27- formedintegrally therewith upon'which a wheel hub 28-is rotatably mounted bymeans.

of suitable` roller bearings 29.

I have provided a brake anchor member 30 secured to the knuckle 26 andwhich also .secures. a dust plate 31 thereto, which plate 'forms theinner side of the brake shoe enclosure. The upper end'of `the anchor 30is providedwith a brake adjusting device 32, lthe purpose of which is.to adjustably anchor the ends of a pair of semi-circular brake shoes 33which are-mounted on the anchor-member 30. Thelower end of each shoe 33is provided with a pair of rollers 34 straddling the center web andbetween which a. wedge- 35 is reciprocally mounted so that the shoeswill be spread by a downward movement of this wedge 35. A pin v36rojecting outwardly form the lower en of each anchor 30 guides the wedgefor vertical reciprocation so that when the wedge is forced downwardlyit will engage'both pairs of rollers 34 thereby spreading both brakeshoes` into engagement;- withv a brake, drum 37 which is secured to the-hub 28.

The brake drum 37 is Vprovided with a plurality of `wheel retainingbolts 38 spaced' around its periphery, these bolts zo-acting withsuitable lugs 39 f extending inwardly from the rim ofthe respectivewheel -18 to thereby detachably mount this' 'wheel on the spindle 27Each wheel 18 consists ofa central cup shaped hub shell 40 whichencloses the bearing hub 28 and fromwhich a plurality of spokes 41radiate to the rim of the wheel. It willbe noted that the wheel rims arei mounted directly on the brake drum and that the hub 40 and spokesmerely serve to keep the rim circular.

The lower end of each king pin 24 is provided with an outwardly anddownwardly inclined track 42 which is disposed directly above the wedge35. A 'roller 43 is arranged to roll on the track 42 and an arm 44having a forkedupper end in which the roller is `pivotally mounted'extends downwardly where its lower end is universally mounted by a balljoint 45 in the upper end of the wedge 35. It will thus be seen that anoutward movement of the roller 43 will force the wedge 35 downwardly totherebyspread the brake shoes '33 into engagement with the brake drum. i

Referring to Figures 1 and .4, I have shown means for moving the roller43. The front axle 13 is provided with enlarged portions' 46 adjacent toeach of the radius rod connections, and a bracket 47 formed on theforward end of each of these radius rods projects into the hollowportion of the axle. A bell crank lever 48 is pivotally connected toeach bracket 47 and apush rod 49, pivotally connected to one arm of thislever, extends outwardly through an opening 50 in 'the lower wall of theaxle 10 to position where its outer end is vclevised around the roller43. The dust plate 31 is provided with an elongated opening 51 throughwhich the push rod extends to allow the dust plate to pivot around theouter end of this push rod. I have'provided a flexible casing 52 the'outer end of which issecured to the dust plate around the opening 51 andthe inner end of which is fastened to the axle adjacent to the opening50. This casing provides a' dust tight enclosure for the push rod andbrake operating mechanism irrespective of the swivelling action of thewheel. The position ofthis casing when the wheel is swiveled to itsfully turned position is shown by dotted lines 53.

To operate the push rods 49 I have pro-- joined by a transverse housing22, the rear center portion of which is universally connected to thecenter cross member 11 at y23. The front axle is thereby rigidly heldagainst longitudinal movement but is allowed to freely pivot relative tothe chassis frame` tends vthrough the housing 22 and has each A channelsection cross beam 55 exend thereof connected to the rear ends of therods 54. This beam 55 is guided by houslng tie bolts 56 and its centerportion is conl nected to a rod 57 which extends rearwardly out throughthe axis of the universal connection 23. It will thus be seen thatdrawing the rod 57 rearwardly,will hove the equalizing beam 55rearwardly to 'thereby draw both rods 54 through the radius rods 16 andapply both of the front wheel brakes. It will be noted from Figure 7that the housing 20 is provided with a pair of cross shafts 60 and 6lrotatably mounted therein. The forward cross shaft 60 is provided with across arm 62, the lower end of which is adjustably fastened to the rod57 while the upper end is provided with an equalizing beam 63 pivotallysecured thereto within the housing 20. The outer ends of the equalizingbeam 63 extends to position adjacent to the ends of the rear radius rods17 and a pair of rear brake applying rods 64 are pivotally connected tothe respective ends of the equalizing beam and extend rearwardly throughthese rear radius rods 17 to operate the rear brakes of the car.

Referring to Figures 10 and 11, I have provided rear brake anchormembers 65 which are mounted on the ends of the rear axle housing 14.The rear brake shoes, adjusting mechanism, and operating wedges areduplicates of those used on the front wheel brakes, previouslydescribed, so that they have lbeen given the same reference numerals asthese like parts. The-brake shoes and associated parts are mounted onthe anl v chor member 65 in position to co-act with the brake drums ofthe rear wheels.

Due to the nonv-swivelling mounting ofthe rear brakes, I have provided asimple lever and cam for applying the rear brakes instead of the pushrods 49 used on the front brakes. A shaft 76 is rotatably mounted in theanchor 65 just inwardly from the wedge 35 and a cam l7 7 is securedtothe inner end of this shaft in position to urge the wedge outwardlywhen thefshaft is properly rotated. An arm 7 8 is secured'to the outerend of each shaft and is connected-to the rear end 'of the respectivebrake rod 64 so that a forward movementof these rods `will 'rotate theshafts .7 6 to thereby apply the rear brakes.

A housing 79 is formed on each of the anchors 65 which enclose the arms78 and to which the rear ends of the rear radius rods 17 are secured.The operating mechanism for these rear brakes is thereby totallyenclosed so as to be protected against dirt and water or accidentaloperation thereof.

One of the .ends of the cross shaft 60 isprovided with an arm 66extending upwardly therefrom and a`service brake rod 67 is pivotallyconnected to the upper end of this arm and extends forwardly where it isconnected to a service brake pedal 68.

This pedalis pivotally mounted at 69 to the engine and transmissionunit. When the pedal 68 is depressed it draws the rod 67 therebyrotating the cross shaft 60 through the arm 66 and operates the rod 57and equalizer beam 63 to thereby simultaneously pull the rods 54 and64through the front and rear radius rods, respectively.

gency brake lever 73 so that operation of this lever will rotate the arm6l. I have provided a pair Ofarms 74 extending upwardly from theshaft'61 within the housing 20, the upper ends of these armshaving ears75 thereon which straddle the forward ends of the rods V64. When theemergency brake lever is operated the ears 75 co-act with the forwardends of the rods 64 to thereby operate the rear set of brakes'independently of the other brakesbn-the car.

Referring to Figure 12, I have shown a rigid casing 8() having acylindrical end 81, which end is arranged to oscillate around the kingpin axis in the dust plate 31. "T his -casing encloses thepush rod 49and is urged into position by a coil spring 82.

This device is for use 1n place of the flexible casing 52, if desired.

Among the many advantages arising from the use of my improved device itmay be well to lnention that I have provided a brake wherein theoperating rods and apply ingmechanism are entirely enclosed within theparts normally associated with the ordinary automobile. Further, therods being entirely enclosed are protected against the action of dirtand .water or accidental operation and last as long as the car and addto its safety.

Still further, the clean cut appearance of a chassis having my improvedbrake installed thereon gives a definite sales advantage thereto.

Some changes may be made in the arrangement, construction andcombination of the various parts of my ,improved device withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention, and it is my intention tocover by my claims, such changes as may reasonably ends of said axles,and operating rods for -saidbrakes extending through said radius rods soas to be protected thereby. 2. In a motor vehicle, the combination of avehicle frame, front and rear axles, tubular radius rods extending fromeach axle to said frame, braking Wheels rotatably mountedon the ends ofsaid axles, and operating rods for said brakes extending through saidtubular radius rods so as to be protected thereby.

3. In a motor vehicle, the combination of a vehicle frame, front andrear axles, radius rods extending from each axle to substantially thecenter point of said frame, braking wheels rotatably mounted on the endsof said axles, and operating rods for said brakes extending through saidradius rods so as to be protected-thereby.

4. In a motor Vehicle, the combination of a vehicle frame, front andrear axles, tubular radius rods extending from the outer ends of eachaxle to substantially the center point of said frame, braking wheelsrotatably mounted on the ends of said axles, and operating rods for saidbrakes disposed 1n 5. In a motor vehicle, the combination of a vehicleframe, front and rear axles, a pair of radius rods extending from theouter vends of each axle toward the center of the vehicle, brakingWheels rotatably mountedy dius rods-and housingsl so as to form anbrakes.

enclosedv mechanism for operating said 6. In a motor vehicle, a frontaxle, radius rods supporting said axle against longitudinal movementrelative to said .vehicle, wheels rotatably mounted on the ends of saidaxle,

brakes on said wheels, and operating rods disposed inv said radius rodsfor actuating said brakes.

7. Inla motor vehicle, a frame, a front axle, radius rods extending fromsaid vframe to the'respective ends of said axle, wheels rotatablymounted on the ends of said-axle, brakes on said. wheels, and operatingrods disposed in said radius rods for actuating said brakes.

8. In a motor vehicle, a tubular front axle,

tubular radius rods supporting said axle against longitudinal movementrelative to said vehicle, wheels rotatably mounted on the ends of saidaxle, brakes on said wheels, and operating mechanism for said brakesvextending through said axle and radius rods so as to be enclosed andprotected thereby.

9. In a motor vehicle, a tubular front axle having wheels rotatablymounted on the said radius rods so as to be protected there-- vehicle, apair of tubular radius rods having their forward ends secured to saidaxle and their rear ends secured to said housing, push rods .extendingoutwardly through said axle in position to operate said brakes, brakerods extending through said radius rods to operate said push rods, andan equalizer beam extending through said housing to operate said brakerods.'

10. In a motor vehicle, a rear axleradius rods extending from the outerends of said axle to the center portion of said vehicle, braking wheelsrotatably mounted on the ends of said axle, and operating mechanism fo`said brakes disposed Within said radius ro s.

11. In a motor vehicle, a rear axle, brake anchor'plates secured to theends of said axle, wheel brakes mounted `on said anchorl plates, radiusrods'extending from said anchor plate to the center portion ofthevehicle, and brake operating rods extending through said radius rods soas to be enclosed thereby.

12. In a motor` vehicle, a rear axle, brake anchor plates secured to theends of said axle, wheel brakes mounted on said anchor plates, a brakeoperating shaft rotatably mounted in and extending through each of saidanchor plates, arms secured to said shafts, a housing formed on theinner face of each anchor plate forming partial enclosures for saidarms, tubular radius rods .secured to said housings so as toV completesaid enclosures, said radius rods extending forwardly tothe centerportion of the vehicle, and brake operating rods extending through saidradius rods and into said housings where they pivotally connect withsaid arms to form an enclosed operating mechanism for said brakes. i

13. In a motor vehicle, a front axle having a pair of substantiallyvertical king pins secured in the ends thereof, 'a knuckle vjointswivelly mounted on each of said king pins,

brakeanchor plates mounted on said knuckle joints, Wheel brakes mountedon said anchor plates, an inclined track formed on the lower end of eachking pin, and a reciprocating rod extending parallel to said axle havingits outer end co-acting with said in-A clined track so thatreciprocation of said rod will force the outer end thereof downwardly frod adapted to co-act with each of said inolined tracks to apply saidbrakes.

l5. In a motor vehicle, a tubular front axle having wheels rotatablymounted on the ends thereof, brakes for said Wheels a v pair of tubularradius rods connectedwlth said axle and extending rearwardly to thecenter of the vehicle so as to form a continuous passageway from theends of said axle E@ to the Center of the vehicle, brake operating rodsextending through said radius rods, push rods extending through saidaxle from the radius rods to the brakes, and bell crank leversconnecting said push rods and radius 35 rods disposed Within saidassageway so as to provide an enclosed rake operating mechanismo HENRYFURD.

